Mine-ventilating apparatus.



W. CLIFFORD.

MINE VBNTILATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JANA, 1912. RENEWED JAN. 8, 1014.

Patented Aug. 18, 1914,

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

INVENTOR WITNESSES: g wi W. CLIFFORD, MINE VBNTILATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.4, 1912. RENEWED JAN. 8, 1914.

1,107,264. Patented Au 18, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR Ally's W. CLIFFORD,

MINE VENTILATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JANA, 1912. RENEWED JAN. 8, 1014.

1,107,264, E Patented Aug. 18, 1914,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FEHHM 3 34 34' 35 WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PAT WILLIAM CLIFFORD, OF JEANNE'ITE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR To ELLIOTT COM- PANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF FENNSYLVANIA.

MINE-VENTILATING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Application filed January 4, 1912, Serial No. 669,329. Renewedtanuary 8, 1914. Serial No. 811,098.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, WILLIAM CLIFFORD, residing at'Jeannette, in the county of VVestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States, have invented'or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Mine-Ventilating Apparatus, of which improvements the following is a specification. 1

My invention relates to apparatus used in the ventilation of mines.

The object of, my invention is'to provide means to preventsuch apparatus from becoming inoperative when, in the case of an emergency, it is used to, exhaust heated gases from a mine. I

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of my specification, and in which the several features of my invention are illustrated, Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of apparatus designed for the ventilaticn of a mine, the plane of section being through .the axis of the rotary drum which forms part thereof; Fig. 2, is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 11-11, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line IIIIII, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on larger scale taken on theline IV-IV, Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a plan "iew of the bearings or pillow blocks for the axle of the rotary fan, which are shown in vertical section in Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a view in vertical section taken on the line VI'V][, Fig. 5, and at right angles to the plane of section of Fig. 4.

' In ventilating apparatus used in mines,

it is the usual practice to provide means which may operate either 'to withdraw or exhaust gas or foul air from the mine or to impel fresh air into it, suitable means being employed, adjustable by the operator, to cause the apparatus to operate in either alternative manner, as may be desired. To such an end such ap aratus is constructed, in general respects, a ter the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2, wherein a drum 1 is shown mounted upon a rotary shaft Qand inclosed within a suitable casing 3. The said drum is preferably of the double-inlet type, and thecasing 3 accordingly provided with inletopenings 4 on each side of the said drum, the saidopenings leading from passageways 5, which have door-controlled communication .with a mine shaft 6 and with the open air.

The outlet from the said casing is so arranged and controlled by a suitable gate 7, 8, thatwhen the said gate is in the substantially vertical position indicated at 7 the impelled air willpass out the chimney 9, and when the gate is in the general horizontal position indicated at 8 the impelled air will pass through the passageway 11 anddown the mine shaft 6. In such a fan construe tion suitable swinging doors are provided at the ends of the passageway 5 for control ling the source of the air umped by the fan. The doors 12, at the rig t end of the said passageway 5 are effective in their alternate full-line and dotted-line positions to throw the mine shaft 6 in communication with either the fan inlet-eyes 4 or the fan outlet passageway 11, respectively; and the doors 13, at the opposite end of the passageways 5, are efl'ective, when in closed full-line position, to direct foul air from the mine into the fan inlet eyes 4, and when in open dottedline position to provide the inlet eyes with communication from the open air.

Such a structure, as before stated, may be effective to exhaust air from a mine or imel air thereto. When the outlet gate 7, 8 is in a general vertical position, as indicated at 7, and the doors 12and 13 are in the positions shown in full lines in Fig. 1, foul air will be exhausted from the mine; and the course of flow of such air-will be from the shaft 6, through passageways 5, and inlets 4,

into the casing 3, from which it is driven out,

by means of the rotary drum, through the chimney 9. By adjusting the outlet gate 7, 8 so as to'be in the position indicated at 8, and by swinging the doors 12 and 13 to their dotted positions, fresh air drawn from out side may bedriven by the fan, through the passageway 11 and down the shaft 6.

When an explosion or a fire occurs in a minethe air and the gases of explosion are frequently of such temperature (when taken intothe fan operated as described above to exhaust such gases from the mine) as to render the fan inoperativep and in view of this fact my invention has to do particularly with such fans when they are operated in this manner, and is dlrected spe cifically toward providing a cooling system for all parts ofthe fan liable to be destroyed' or rendered inoperative, when exhausting such heated ases. To such an end I preferably provide passageways or rotatably support the shaft 2, preferably consist of two-part pillow blocks, having a base 18 secured to a support 19, and a cap 20 secured to the said bottom or base portion. The said base 18 is provided preferably with two sets of chambers, water ch ambers '21 and 21, and oil chambers 22 and 22 Suitable water passageways 23 may be provided in the cap 20 to connect the water chambers 21 and 21, the said passageways preferably being so disposed as to surround the shaft 2 without having communication therewith. Oil passageways 2 1- may be provided to connect the oil chambers 22 and 22*, the said oil passageways likewise surrounding the shaft but having com munication therewith. Inlet pipes 31 may be properly attached to the base .18 so as to have communication with the chamber 21, and (having particular reference to the pillow block or bearing 17 the chamber 21? of the said base may be provided with two outlet orifices 25 and 26. To the orifice 25 a suitable nozzle 27 may be secured, the said nozzle being so placed as to direct a stream of water upon the more exposed portions of the rotating drum, that is to say, upon the hub. with the blades whichvit carries;

and the orifice 26 may communicate with an annular chamber 28 surrounding the shaft 2, which chamber may have at its end a pipe 29 adapted to direct a stream of water'upon the shaft-supporting block 30. It will be observed of this construction that water, enteringthrough the inlet pipes 31,

25 and is directed upon the exposed part of the fan by means of the nozzle 27 while I another quantity of the water flows through the orifice 26 into the chamber 28, and from thence is directed u on the block 30 by 7 means of the curved pipe 29. In its passage through this conduit system, and in its projection upon the drum, the water is efiec- 'tive to keep the shaft, bearings, and drum from becoming heated to such a temperature as has heretofore rendered the fan structure inoperative. It will also be understood that the flow of the water, as described, may be. controlled by hand whenever such ow is necessary, or a thermostatic valve, such as is well lmown in the art, may be installed in the'system and so arranged as to operate at a predetermined temperature.

The oil chambers 22 and 22 which communicate With each other by the passageways 24, are referably disposed adjacent to the water c ambers 21, 21 and passages 23, to the end that the lubricating oil may be kept cool; and the oil may find its way to the shaft 2 through suitably providedoilducts 32.- In this construction, also, a drum 48 may be secured to the shaft 2 to the end that the oil may be ke t in circulation while the shaft rotates, an an opening. 49 may be provided for filling the oil-chambers.

I do not wish to limit myself to the details of construction shown herein, for obi viously many changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim herein as my invention: 1. In a mine ventilating fan, the combinationwith a rotary fan, a housingincluding an inlet passageway for the said fan, and an operating shaft for the said fan extending through the inlet passageway; of a pair of pillow-blocks affording bearings for the said shaft and provided with water chambers adjacent to the said shaft, a-fluid containing chamber surrounding the said shaft within the passageway and communicating with a pillow-block water chamber, and a supply conduit leading to one of the said chambers, substantially as described.

2. In a pillow block for a mine-ventilat ing fan-shaft, the combination of water and oil chambers surrounding the shaft bearing portion of the said block, the said voil chamber being in communication with and at fording a supply of oil to the said shaft, the said water chamber affording a cooling medium for the shaft bearing and for oil within the said oil-chamber, and a water supply conduit connected to the said water chamber, substantially as described.

In testimany whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM OLIFFGRD. 

